13460/Human Inefficiency

Human Inefficiency
Date of Scene:	08 June 2021
Location:	Midvale, New Troy
Synopsis:	They took two minutes longer than they should have.
Cast of Characters:	Cameron, John Connor, Sarah Connor

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Cameron has posed:
It was another day at the Baum residence.

After recent excitement, they were on extra alert status. Not really because they had to be because really, they were always alert. It wasn't paranoia if someone was actually out to get them. Or something in their case.

Cameron was in the living room at the moment, staring out the windows to the world outside as she contemplated whatever might go through a her computer brain. Maybe it was monitoring for threats. Maybe it was analyzing the historical significance of feudal Japan. Maybe it was considering how best to teach John how to drive a stick shift. Maybe it was the tilt of the house that was going to be an issue next year.

John Connor has posed:
John was on lockdown after that incident with the baseball and the flower pot... okay, there was a high speed chase that went into the suburbs of Midvale, and the guy had gotten within two homes of theirs, but it was just a coincidence. The guy didn't get to their backyard, let alone in the house, and he wasn't after John. It was just a coincidence.

So he sat on the couch, arm sitting on the rest, propping up his face. He looked bored to tears. The last week had seemed to go school, home, school, home, school, home, school, home, school, home, home, home. It was no fun for a sixteen year old.

Looking to Cameron, who was standing guard, he decided to ask, "in the future, am I ever under house arrest?" Yeah, he was blowing it out of proportion.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah had just finished her afternoon regime, and was just coming in from the backyard.

"You'll do what, hrm?" Oh yes, Sarah had no doubt what John really thought of this current round of lockdown. She mopped her neck with a towel. "What is the news like today?" She spoke to John, but was looking at Cameron.

Cameron has posed:
"House arrest?" Cameron asked as she looked over at John. No curiosity, no furrowed brow. Bereft of expression really, just general neutrality. "There is no legal mandate."

Then she caught sight of Sarah and something clicked. "Oh." Back to John. "Yes. There were times for your safety that you were kept in seclusion. You did not like it then either."

John Connor has posed:
It wasn't a threat. He was just poking the bear by asking Cameron for details about future John. "Same as it was yesterday, same as it'll be tomorrow, same as it'll be the next day." He knew and understood why his mother did this, insisted on it, but it was hard for him. He had so much repressed energy. He smirked and shook his head at Cameron taking him literally. "How did I cope with it," he asked, "or how do I cope with it? What do I do?"

Sarah Connor has posed:
"We could go back to South America and live in the jungle." No, Sarah isn't serious. But she's thought of it a few times. Reaching over the back of the couch, she kissed the top of John's head. "As soon as I hear word that the robber is in jail we can put the house on Defcon 2."

Defcon 2, instead of 1.

Cameron has posed:
"We should remain at this Defcon."

Which is Cameron's way of saying she Sarah is right to be anxious. "According to the news reports, the suspect was apprehended two houses from here on the day in question. However..."

Why was there always a however?

"He escaped during a transfer from the jail to the courthouse this morning. It is believed he will be returning to his girlfriend's house, which is not close by. When he is apprehended again, we can return to normal."

John Connor has posed:
Joke or not, the suggestion of going back to South America and living in the jungle had John's attention. That was hell. It was hot, muggy, and there were so few people. It was very, very safe, but it was very, very dull. He could put up with it when he was younger, but not as an adult, and especially not as the computer whiz he had become. He knew what the internet situation was like at the best of times in most of South America. In the jungle, it was non-existent, unless they somehow brought their own dish and managed to override a satellite. Plus, they'd need a diesel generator. It was not nice.

He let her kiss him, and it made him feel better. He loved his mother, and knew she meant well. But then Cameron ruined any hopes of lowered defenses. "Why is there always a however?" Yes, John gave word to what everyone was thinking. Sighing, leaning his head back against the couch, and rising up, John would pace about. "Fine, whatever, more time under house arrest. But can we at least ord... can Cameron go out for pizza?" He would so like to go on that pizza run, but likely it was the only way that mom would allow, or Sarah going out for pizza. One or the other.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah did not trust Cameron completely (there were few who had that spot in Sarah's life), but she trusted to be honest when it comes to the news. After all, Sarah could look it up herself.

Sarah knew John would need some 'life' to prepare himself for the war that was to come. She knew it. And she still wanted to return to the jungle and hide him away. Her sojourn in the mental hospital had convinced that this time she was wrong. John needed to live, learn everything about the system, and that meant living within it.

"There is always a but John. You should have known that, and prepared for it." But he had a point.. pizza. She looked at Cameron.

Cameron has posed:
Cameron paused. It was just a tiny tilt of the head, a momentary thought. She didn't like the idea of leaving John unprotected. Not that he was with Sarah present. But it still felt wrong to leave them when they were on high alert.

If she left, she could take a few extra minutes to check the area for threats. That made her decision for her.

"Please make the order and I will go get it." And with that, she was walking toward the front door.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah had a burner phone for just such an occasion. No tracer on it, just a number that she gave a small amount of money to each month, to use. After all, it was a business. Anybody could be listening.

"Why don't you order something wild, hrm? I'll take a shower while Cameron picks it up?" She threw the burner phone in his lap.

Yes, she did say something wild. Is she trying to ask for forgiveness, without asking??

John Connor has posed:
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," he was prepared. He was a good boy. Even when he resisted or fought against his mother, it was more out of frustration than that he didn't actually agree with her. They did different, and he could stand his ground against her, but most of the time, they agreed. He just didn't like these tough decisions, he didn't like the consequences.

But the look his mother gave Cameron had John already thinking about what to order. And with Cameron getting on board, and Sarah throwing the burner in his lap, he would order three pizzas, since leftovers were great, especially if he was going to be stuck here. He ordered a Supreme Pizza, breadsticks, and pizza sauce dip for Cameron, beef taco pizza and honey garlic wings for his mother, and a tropical Hawaiian and cheesy bread for himself.

They were all large's, so plenty to share. He got a cheese dip for himself, and a jalapendo ranch for his mother. For drinks, a bottle of Dr. Pepper, a bottle of 7-Up, and bottle of Pepsi. Yeah, this wasn't going to be cheap, but there was a deal on, and they had a coupon in the truck too.

Cameron has posed:
It was almost 35 minutes later when Cameron returned. It allowed time for her to do a scout around the neighborhood to find nothing amiss. Then she went into the shop at the time it would take for the pizza to be done, calculated to the minute. Then it took them two more minutes to finish it up. Very inefficient.

When she returned, she was carrying multiple pizza boxes with bag balanced on the top which held the bottled drinks.

"There is no sign of activity," she announced as she headed to the kitchen table to set down the boxes and carefully move the bag over so the drinks weren't jostled.

John Connor has posed:
Looking at the clock on the wall, John said to Sarah, "they took too long." He had come to know and understand Cameron's thinking. And he knew how long it took to make a pizza. Cameron was so efficient, that when she was late, it was either due to an attack, or human inefficiency. He was guessing human inefficiency.

John had taken the time to set the dinner table, not that they always ate at the table, but there were plates, a pizza cutter, in case they didn't cut it properly, napkins, and glasses for the drinks. Seeing Cameron finally return, he smiled over at her, his smile bright to see the pizza, but if he were being truthful, it was more her. He knew his mother didn't trust her, but Cameron was his friend. He liked her.

"What took so long?" He asked, genuinely curious about the delay.

Sarah Connor has posed:
For a full twenty minutes Sarah was having a shower, which for her was an anomaly. Usually fifteen minutes, tops. But she had to think, preferably where both John and Cameron wheren't.

Also it was the beginning of her trusting John.

(Right. While she was in the shower.)

Her hair was in a towel when she came down to the kitchen. "Pardon? And the forks go on the left side." He should know this, it could be important.. someday.

Cameron has posed:
"They took two minutes longer than they should have." Which didn't account for the rest of the time. Cameron made a little face as she shared the information, obviously displeased with their lack of doing things properly. What were they doing for those two minutes? Standing around? More likely taking other orders or dealing with a situation but she didn't think that way.

The extra time, she added that in as well. "While giving time for them to prepare the order, I checked the area. There is no sign of trouble."

John Connor has posed:
His mom took her sweet time with that shower. But sometimes you just needed that extra time under the water, to think, to scrub, to get clean, but mostly to think. It felt good. When John's mother pointed out the lack of forks, he asked, "who eats pizza with a knife and fork?" Shrugging, he would do as she asked, setting out the cutlery, but he wouldn't be using it.

"Ah, gotcha." He almost made a joke about giving them a talking to, but Cameron sometimes took such thing literally, so he decided not to joke. Instead, he'd use the pizza scoop to put slices of everyone's favorite pizza, as well as their stuff, onto plates, since it was a bit of a communal area with him standing in front of the various open boxes. When they wanted seconds, and they likely would, they could get it themselves and take whatever they wanted.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Just to prove him wrong, Sarah pulled out of the fridge a bag of salad, and tossed it in a salad bowl. Without saying a word she put it on the kitchen table, right in front of John. "Never assume. That's how you end up dead."

Cameron has posed:
Likely for the best not to mention giving them a talking to. Visions of Cameron down there explaining it took 20 minutes to cook a pizza and there was no excuse for dallying around.

As Sarah gets salad and John dishes out pizza, she takes the time to pass out the bottled drinks to each person's spot at the table. Then she settles into her seat to eat. Even though she doesn't have to, she has learned that they seem to like it when she 'blends' more.

John Connor has posed:
John looked at the salad that was placed in front of him. He looked to his mother. Then he asked, "why are you putting decorative pants near my food?" Yeah, 16 year old boy, he isn't going anywhere near a salad unless it was life or death. He took a bite of his pizza, enjoying the taste, and then opens the bottle Cameron had shared of Dr. Pepper. He made a kiss sound followed by an 'ah', as he clearly enjoyed the refreshment.

John did like it when Cameron blended in, and he was under the impression that she could enjoy it. She wouldn't be very effective as an infiltrator without taste buds, or sensors that approximated it. "How's the pizza he asked," curious to test his theory.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Regardless of what John said, Sarah gave him a spoonful of salad. "Eat it." No please or thank you, just eat it.

To Cameron.. "Tonight I want to up the rounds. I'm still not perfectly okay with this. It's too quiet. Too out of the ordinary." Where was Derick when you needed him anyways?! "Keep it up for the next 24 hours. Maybe this will all blow by then."

It better. She has to do a double shift two days in a row.

Cameron has posed:
Cameron had waited to take a bite of her pizza. She was holding it in her hand carefully and blowing lightly on the gooey cheesiness because that is what people did. So they wouldn't burn their tongue when taking their first bite, until the pizza had time to cool to tolerable levels.

Once it was the proper temperature, she took a bite and chewed thoughtfully as she watched the interply of mother and son. The question from John had her swallowing as she nodded. "It is very good. Thank you."

Then a glance to Sarah. "I will patrol through the night."

John Connor has posed:
Now this was embarrassing. He was being spoon fed salad by his mother. He ate, he chewed, he swallowed, but if she wanted him to have a second spoonful, or a third, she'd have to feed him that. He did not like salad. He would not willingly eat it when there were tastier options available. Especially when he had a good diet otherwise. He would take another bite of his slice of pizza, "are you done?" Yeah, the boy wasn't too pleased at being spoon fed salad. Like at all.

Sarah Connor has posed:
As far as Sarah was concerned, one bit of salad on his plate was enough. After that she said nothing of it. "Did you happen to hear if Derick is going to be back soon?"

She feels safer having him around. An extra body, plus he wasn't Cameron. Sometimes a human might be more fragile, but ultimately could think for himself. And sometimes that was necessary.

Cameron has posed:
Cameron continues to quietly eat her pizza, glancing between them as they spoke but not really moving her head to do so. Just flicking her gaze back and forth.

She finished off the first slice but then grabbed the smaller box with the cheesy breadsticks and pizza dipping sauce.

John Connor has posed:
And John had a few green things in him, so it wasn't entirely to waste. He might even take a spoonful of the remaining salad on his plate when his mom wasn't looking, in the bathroom, or cleaning up. But never in her sight. If she knew he could tolerate salad, she'd make him eat it more often. "He should be back next week," John said, having heard the time table for whatever he was up to, but things could always change. "Can I have some of that," he asked as Cameron got the cheesy breadsticks and pizza dipping sauce. It looked really good. "I'll trade you a piece of my cheesy bread for it?"

Sarah Connor has posed:
Normally Sarah would have spent another eating around the kitchen to spend more time with John. Heck more time with Cameron. But not this day. With a kiss on the cheek,she informs John, "Don't forget to wash these dishes down." She held Cameron's eyes, with a solemn look, as if to remind her to watch over John. "I'll be back before midnight."

And she was off.